KC-46 tanker passes key flight tests

Boeing’s KC-46 tanker test aircraft completed its 20th flight on November 12, 2015, marking the completion of a series of flight tests to validate the plane’s initial airworthiness to conduct aerial refueling operations.

The initial airworthiness validation is the first of two major milestones necessary for the new tanker to conduct its core mission of aerial refueling, said Boeing spokeswoman Caroline Hutcheson. The next step is fuel dock testing, when the test team validates the fuel transfer control functions.